Silence
by Clarice-M-Starling
Summary: (Set after the Hannibal novel) A very special "victim" helps Clarice to finally silence the lambs.


Usual disclaimers apply. I also have this one posted on my website as well as on the Hannibal Addiction under the pen name "Hannah Lecter" and the title "Schweigen die Lamm," but I'm the same person so it's not stealing in case you run across the other one and wonder lol. Unfortunately, the other version had some errors, but I've cleaned this one up for you. Enjoy, and please review! 

It's set after "Hannibal" the book, because I was really into the book at the time. It's a tad mushier than most of my stuff... but it all fits somehow. I mainly wrote it because I had the lamb idea.. you'll see what I mean. Most of my other stories are set after the movie - not saying that I don't want them together, because I haven't decided that yet. No, don't give me that look! *evil grin* Anyway... I just like the movie ending better now because it leaves room for more movies and all.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

~Clarice (Hannah) 

* * *

**Silence**

Clarice Starling sat on a beautiful brick hearth of a splendid fireplace as she watched the blazing flames. Flame after flame,...each stunning shades of orange, crimson, and white, reflected brilliantly off of her ruby earrings which were almost as fiery as the flames themselves. She wore a beautiful red-silk gown that matched the earrings and her auburn tresses consumed her shoulders in a blaze of orange like the flames. It seemed everything about her on this starry night had a fiery aura to it.

"Clarice, Darling, what troubles you my Dear?" Hannibal Lecter handed her a glass of Chateau d'Yquem and joined her on the hearth. She took the glass then resumed to staring blankly into the fire. 

"I just have a bad feeling about something,..."

"What is it my Dear?" he placed his hands on her shoulders. 

"I don't know,... I just feel that something bad is going to happen." 

He brushed her hair back from her face. "Don't worry about it, Darling. You just need some sleep." 

"I can't sleep." 

"Why not? I thought the lambs haven't awakened you in weeks?" 

"They did last night." She was still staring into the flames. Her eyes never moving.

"Why didn't you wake me?" 

"I don't know,... I just feel really strange lately." 

"Are you coming to bed, My Dear?" 

"No. Maybe later,... I'm gonna stay here for awhile."

He kissed her on the cheek. "Well, you know where I'll be."

"Yes Dear." Dr. Lecter left the room and Clarice still sat on the hearth, her mind consumed by thoughts of her youth. She stared deeper and deeper into the flames, then suddenly one flame flashed wildly amidst all the others, and it snapped her out of her reverie. She glanced at the flame for what must have been less than a second, but she swore that the flame took on the shape of a lamb. The same screaming lamb that she had heard in her sleep for so many years. She suddenly felt this urge to get up and flee the house; this force pushing her on. 

She sprang to her feet and rushed out the double doors of the stunning three level mansion. The dew from the freshly cut lawn glistened on her expensive leather shoes. She barely felt like going on, but something insider her beckoned her to proceed. She ran faster and faster towards the neighboring estate and her auburn hair flamed behind her in the slow but steady breeze. She ran and ran, dodging branches and fallen limbs. She finally came to the pasture and her eyes scanned for something she didn't quite know what she was looking for, but her heart told her she would find. She ran along the fence the lined the pasture of their neighbour's estate, and then she heard a noise... a noise she hadn't heard in so long, but that she'd remember until the day she died. 

She headed quickly towards the noise and there by the fence was a young lamb, screaming as loud as it could. It's leg was caught in the wire fence and was bleeding heavily. The lamb was flailing wildly, and Clarice felt the same yearning feeling she had felt so many years before when she had tried to save the screaming lambs. She reached for the lamb and talked softly to it. The lamb was on the other side of the fence, and she knew she would have to climb over. She kicked off her expensive leather shoes and tore the hem in her gown so she could move more easily. She made it over and went quickly to the lamb. She had to yank it's leg slightly to free it, and used the hem from her gown to wrap the wound. She held the creature tight and confused, tired, and stumbling headed up the pasture towards the owner's house. She trudged and trudged but she was so exhausted. 

Finally, she stopped, and she and the lamb both wailing, fell to the ground in exhaustion. She held the lamb and it cried in pain. She lay on the damp ground and held the creature tightly to her chest and sobbed into the soft wool. Then suddenly a hand touched her shoulder and she flinched, glancing up to see who it was. She threw herself into the arms of Hannibal Lecter. He held her tight and tried to calm her. She was crying fiercely and the once-beautiful gown was drenched in the now-crimson blood from the lamb's leg. "Clarice, why did you come way out here all by yourself?" 

Clarice's cries were barely audible but she managed "...I had to." He rocked her gently and she burst into tears again. After a few minutes, she calmed down and she looked blankly up at the sky. Herself, Hannibal, and the lamb sat motionlessly staring at the heavens, as a final tear ran down her face, and at that moment, the lambs were silent... 


End file.
